Booking & cancellation policy

Court engagements are paid in full when you book. What follows is how much of that comes back if the date is cancelled, measured from the day you tell us.

• More than 14 days' notice: refunded in full, or held as credit against a future booking — whichever you prefer. No fee.
• 7 to 14 days' notice: half is refunded. Half is retained.
• Less than 7 days' notice: no refund. By this point the file has been reviewed, the report prepared and the date held against other instructions that were turned away — so the work has substantially been done whether or not the hearing proceeds.

These figures are our genuine estimate of what a late cancellation actually costs us. If your matter settles or is adjourned and you think the fee overstates the work done, tell us — we would rather look at it than lose a solicitor who briefs us regularly.

Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or modifies your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. These fees reflect work already performed and time held that cannot be resold at short notice; they are not a charge for nothing.

The advice options are not court bookings. No hearing date is being held, so the schedule above does not apply to them. This office arranges the time with you once payment is received — Dr Michael Robertson does not take direct calls, so we agree a time and put it in his diary — and it can be moved by agreement at no cost.

If you decide not to go ahead before Dr Michael Robertson has started reviewing your material, the fee is refunded less the 30% administrative fee set out in our refund policy. Once he has begun the review, the reading and analysis that make up most of the work have been done, and the fee is not refundable.

Work begins when payment is received — Dr Michael Robertson personally reviews your material, and this office comes back to you to start. Up until he opens the file the fee is refundable less the 30% administrative fee in our refund policy. After that it is not, because the reading and analysis that make up most of the work have been done whether or not the report is ever filed.

A report ordered against a court date is a court booking, and the schedule above governs it instead — including if the matter settles or is adjourned.

• The full fee is payable at the time of booking. There is no deposit stage and no balance to settle later.
• No date is held until payment is received. Where multiple requests come in for the same date, priority goes to the first confirmed payment.
• Paying in full is what secures Dr Michael Robertson's time — an unpaid request is an enquiry, not a booking, and we will keep taking other instructions for that day.

A request made with less than 14 days' notice is treated as a cancellation, unless a new confirmed date is provided at the time of notice and is available. If the new date cannot be confirmed immediately, the original cancellation terms apply.

For court bookings and reports needed within 7 days of the appearance:

• A 50% surcharge applies, given the short notice. Work that has to be done this week is not the same work done faster — the reading, the analysis and the writing are compressed into whatever hours exist, and every other file on the desk moves back to make room. It is built into the within-7-days options in the shop and settled at checkout — there is no separate invoice to follow.
• Not refundable once confirmed, because the date is held immediately and the preparation starts at once.

Availability at that notice is not guaranteed. If the date is very close, ring us before ordering and we will tell you whether we can take it.

Book early where possible, to allow preparation time and secure availability.

Ordering through the shop settles the fee at checkout and nothing further is invoiced — the short-notice surcharge included, where one applies.

Where we invoice instead — a firm on account, or a scope agreed by email — standard terms are 7 days from issue, unless the court date falls sooner, in which case payment is due before the date is held. If payment is not received by then the booking may be forfeited.

A court appearance means blocking out substantial time for the hearing, report preparation and case review — and declining other work to do it. Short-notice cancellations result in time that cannot be recovered or resold.

Payment secures Dr Michael Robertson's availability for your matter and allows resources to be allocated properly. This is standard practice across the expert witness industry.

Separately from court engagements: if you need to move a hair collection appointment, 24 hours' notice lets us give the slot to someone else — please ring rather than not arriving.

Where a test has already been paid for, a 30% administrative fee applies if you cancel after collection but before testing has commenced. That is the only charge that applies.

See our terms and conditions and refund policy.